Bittersweet night for Devils' Martin Brodeur

NEWARK – More often than not during Martin Brodeur’s 19-season NHL career, a trip to Montreal has meant a win for the Devils and a chance for his father, Denis, to watch him play.

When the Devils take on the Canadiens tonight at Bell Centre, however, Denis Brodeur, 82, won’t be in attendance. After having surgery twice in the last year to remove brain tumors, Denis is doing remarkably well, Martin says, but the trip to Bell Centre can be exhausting.

"He definitely could come to the game, but he gets tired," Brodeur said. "He’s so nice that people talk to him and it’s just going to be too much and it’s going to take three days for him to recover, so it’s not worth it."

So Brodeur planned to visit with his father and the rest of his family Saturday night after the team arrived in Montreal and Denis, who used to be a fixture at Canadiens’ home games as the team’s longtime photographer, will watch from home as the Devils try to improve to 4-0-0 for the first time since 1995-96. Denis also missed both of the Devils’ games in Montreal last season because of health issues.

It was almost a year ago — Feb. 7, 2012 — that a CT scan revealed a cancerous tumor on Denis’ brain that was a little smaller than a baseball after he had been experiencing dizzy spells and having trouble with his balance for nearly two months. He underwent surgery on Feb. 17 in Montreal to remove the tumor, and was still in the hospital two days later when Martin and the Devils defeated the Canadiens, 3-1, at Bell Centre.

Less than four months after his surgery, Denis got a ride from a family friend to be at Prudential Center for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. A smile comes across Brodeur’s face as he speaks about his father being at that game, even though the Devils lost, 2-1, to the Kings in overtime.

"That was unbelievable for me to be able to share some of those things with him," Brodeur said. "Our parents are not eternal and, especially with what happened [with the tumors], who knows if that was the last game? He’s doing real well. I don’t expect anything bad to happen, but you never know. I’m not going to play forever, either. So you have to share these moments."

There was another scare over the summer when a follow-up examination revealed a new tumor and Denis was given the option of chemotherapy or another operation. Because the tumor was close to his memory cells, Denis opted for a second surgery.

"That was devastating for a week or so, and then within three days of the surgery he was back and he was doing real well," Brodeur said "Now, he did tests about a month ago and they never called him back, so I guess that’s a great sign."

Even at age 82, Denis still impresses his son with the way he has twice stared down cancer.

"He’s amazing," Brodeur said. "You talk to him and his voice is the same, everything. You can tell that he’s a little tired, but it’s just a matter of he’s not doing anything. He just sits at home. Everybody is doing everything for him. He gets up and everybody is like, ‘Sit down.’ "

Tonight Denis will sit down and watch as his son tries to continue his strong start to the lockout-shortened season (just three goals on 71 shots in three wins), and improve upon his impressive numbers against the Canadiens.

He’s 43-18-5 with a 1.79 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and nine shutouts in 66 career games against the Habs overall. In 28 career starts at Bell Centre, Brodeur is 19-8-1 with a 1.53 GAA, .944 save percentage and five shutouts. The Devils have won their last eight games in Montreal.

"You always want to do well," Brodeur said of playing in Montreal. "I say that every year, but it’s like a pride factor for my family and my friends. They go back to their own lives when I leave Montreal and they have to deal with what I did, so I try to make it easy on them. I’ve been pretty good about it, but it’s always you’re as good as your last game."

Bittersweet night for Devils' Martin Brodeur

NEWARK – More often than not during Martin Brodeur’s 19-season NHL career, a trip to Montreal has meant a win for the Devils and a chance for his father, Denis, to watch him play.

When the Devils take on the Canadiens tonight at Bell Centre, however, Denis Brodeur, 82, won’t be in attendance. After having surgery twice in the last year to remove brain tumors, Denis is doing remarkably well, Martin says, but the trip to Bell Centre can be exhausting.

"He definitely could come to the game, but he gets tired," Brodeur said. "He’s so nice that people talk to him and it’s just going to be too much and it’s going to take three days for him to recover, so it’s not worth it."

So Brodeur planned to visit with his father and the rest of his family Saturday night after the team arrived in Montreal and Denis, who used to be a fixture at Canadiens’ home games as the team’s longtime photographer, will watch from home as the Devils try to improve to 4-0-0 for the first time since 1995-96. Denis also missed both of the Devils’ games in Montreal last season because of health issues.

It was almost a year ago — Feb. 7, 2012 — that a CT scan revealed a cancerous tumor on Denis’ brain that was a little smaller than a baseball after he had been experiencing dizzy spells and having trouble with his balance for nearly two months. He underwent surgery on Feb. 17 in Montreal to remove the tumor, and was still in the hospital two days later when Martin and the Devils defeated the Canadiens, 3-1, at Bell Centre.

Less than four months after his surgery, Denis got a ride from a family friend to be at Prudential Center for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. A smile comes across Brodeur’s face as he speaks about his father being at that game, even though the Devils lost, 2-1, to the Kings in overtime.

"That was unbelievable for me to be able to share some of those things with him," Brodeur said. "Our parents are not eternal and, especially with what happened [with the tumors], who knows if that was the last game? He’s doing real well. I don’t expect anything bad to happen, but you never know. I’m not going to play forever, either. So you have to share these moments."

There was another scare over the summer when a follow-up examination revealed a new tumor and Denis was given the option of chemotherapy or another operation. Because the tumor was close to his memory cells, Denis opted for a second surgery.

"That was devastating for a week or so, and then within three days of the surgery he was back and he was doing real well," Brodeur said "Now, he did tests about a month ago and they never called him back, so I guess that’s a great sign."

Even at age 82, Denis still impresses his son with the way he has twice stared down cancer.

"He’s amazing," Brodeur said. "You talk to him and his voice is the same, everything. You can tell that he’s a little tired, but it’s just a matter of he’s not doing anything. He just sits at home. Everybody is doing everything for him. He gets up and everybody is like, ‘Sit down.’ "

Tonight Denis will sit down and watch as his son tries to continue his strong start to the lockout-shortened season (just three goals on 71 shots in three wins), and improve upon his impressive numbers against the Canadiens.

He’s 43-18-5 with a 1.79 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and nine shutouts in 66 career games against the Habs overall. In 28 career starts at Bell Centre, Brodeur is 19-8-1 with a 1.53 GAA, .944 save percentage and five shutouts. The Devils have won their last eight games in Montreal.

"You always want to do well," Brodeur said of playing in Montreal. "I say that every year, but it’s like a pride factor for my family and my friends. They go back to their own lives when I leave Montreal and they have to deal with what I did, so I try to make it easy on them. I’ve been pretty good about it, but it’s always you’re as good as your last game."